What were the punishments for people suspected of witchcraft?

The so-called Witchcraft Act of 1604 served as the primary English law for witchcraft, deeming it a felony. A witch convicted of a minor offense could be imprisoned for a year; a witch found guilty twice was sentenced to death.

Many faced capital punishment for witchcraft, either by Burning at the stake, hanging, or beheading. Similarly, in New England, people convicted of witchcraft were hanged.

When a person was accused of witchcraft an Indictment would be drawn up, then witnesses would be called, an examination of the accused would be carried out and sometimes a confession drawn out, possibly with torture. Those found guilty would be executed. Not all accusations of witchcraft were believed, however.

Those who confessed—or who confessed and named other witches—were Spared the court’s vengeance, owing to the Puritan belief that they would receive their punishment from God. Those who insisted upon their innocence met harsher fates, becoming martyrs to their own sense of justice.

Witchcraft Act 1562

It was in some respects more merciful towards those found guilty of witchcraft than its predecessor, demanding the Death penalty Only where harm had been caused; lesser offences were punishable by a term of imprisonment.

Within a century, witch hunts were common and most of the accused were executed by Burning at the stake or hanging. Single women, widows and other women on the margins of society were especially targeted. Between the years 1500 and 1660, up to 80,000 suspected witches were put to death in Europe.

The Witchcraft Act 1735 (9 Geo. 2 c. 5) was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1735 which made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or was guilty of practising witchcraft.

Victoria Helen McCrae Duncan (née MacFarlane, 25 November 1897 – 6 December 1956) was a Scottish medium best known as the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735 for fraudulent claims. She was famous for producing ectoplasm which was proven to be made from cheesecloth.

Janet Horne (died 1727) was the last person to be executed legally for witchcraft in the British Isles. The Witch’s Stone in Littletown, Dornoch.

Bridget Bishop ( c. 1632 – 10 June 1692) was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692. Nineteen were hanged, and one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death.

Many of these victims were Hanged or beheaded first, but their bodies were typically incinerated afterwards to protect against postmortem sorcery. Other condemned witches were still alive when they faced the flames, and were left to endure an excruciating death by burning and inhalation of toxic fumes.

This made witchcraft a felony; A witch convicted of a minor offense could receive a year in prison, but any witch accused and found guilty a second time was sentenced to death. [To read the Act, see this 2008 conference volume Witchcraft and the Act of 1604.

Many of these victims were Hanged or beheaded first, but their bodies were typically incinerated afterwards to protect against postmortem sorcery. Other condemned witches were still alive when they faced the flames, and were left to endure an excruciating death by burning and inhalation of toxic fumes.

Answer and Explanation: The best method to avoid execution if accused of witchcraft was to Flee from the region in order to avoid arrest. Though it required a huge sacrifice, at least the person would continue to live.